The Grinch Inside of Me
by Mizu-chan
Summary: Once Yuki and Kyo find out Tohru has never heard the story of the Grinch they decide that must be changed. However they also change a few *minor* details in the story while they're at it.
1. Shigure's Suggestion

Mizu-chan's Notes: Whoo!  My first anime fanfiction in.. forever, heh!  It's Fruits Basket.. my first Fruits Basket.  I hope I don't suck.  Thanks to my buddy, Hentai Mollie for beta-ing my story!  ~:~huggles!~:~  She's the best.

Oh and Mollie and I decided that.. of course the Grinch is known in Japan!  ~:~coughs~:~  He's an international icon!

I hope you like my story.. please review!

The Grinch Inside of Me

Shigure's Suggestion

"Aah!  The Christmas lights are beautiful, Shigure-san," Tohru proclaimed, her face filled to the breaking point with a smile.  She clasped her hands together watching the older man try desperately to hang Christmas lights around the outside of the house.  She gave him an approving nod before turning and heading towards the kitchen.

            It had been her idea to decorate the house for the holiday of Christmas.  Yuki had given her his small smile and promised to help.  Shigure just burst out laughing before agreeing it would be interesting.  Kyo, however, rolled his eyes and made a few comments on her "lack of intelligence".  She really wished she could help him get into the Christmas spirit.

            "Ah, Kyo-kun?" She peeked into the kitchen, watching him battling with the cookie mix.  Christmas cookies were an entirely new area of cooking to him.  

            "What?!"  He exploded, eyes flashing with anger and a snarl plastered to his face.  

            Tohru bit her lips.  His angry expression was severely contrasted by the dough that was splattered all over his face.  He even had a large drip of it on his nose.  

            "Ah, ah, nothing!" She hurriedly said, whirling away from the kitchen before she burst into a fit of giggles.  Tohru clamped her hands tightly over her mouth, trying so hard to keep it in so as not to ruin Kyo's pride.  Kyo was left in the kitchen, puzzled and irritated.

            "Eh?  What's so funny?" Yuki questioned as he appeared at Tohru's side.  In his hands he held a plastic light-up snowman.  Tohru removed her hands, her giggles filling the house as she pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

            Yuki blinked a few times then set the snowman down and headed for the kitchen.  He stood there silently, watching Kyo wrestle with a bowl of dough and a mixing spoon.  The boy then cleared his throat, causing Kyo to send an angry glare over his shoulder.  Yuki's lips twitched at the sight of boy covered in dough.

            "Ah, baka neko," he muttered.

            "What did you say?!" Kyo shouted, tossing the bowl into the air and racing to grab Yuki's collar in his hands.  "I don't see you trying to cook any Christmas cookies!"

            Yuki smirked, swiping a piece of dough from Kyo's nose and tasting it.  He then coughed a few times, yanking away from Kyo's grasp.  "Are you trying to poison us all?"

            "It's not cooked yet, moron!" Kyo retorted, his face flushing bright red as he finally took notice of the mounds of dough he had inflicted upon himself.  

            "Let's hope it never is," Yuki calmly replied, the smirk never leaving his face.  "You look hilarious.  Is cookie dough the new trend?"

            "Damnit!" Kyo exploded.  "Leave me alone!" He then yanked off his apron, flinging it at Yuki before storming out the kitchen and past Tohru.  "I hate this stupid idea!  Christmas?!  I hate Christmas!  I'm not going to cook any stupid Christmas cookies!" he screamed at her, causing the girl to back away with a shocked expression on her face.  Inside he winced at seeing such an expression on her but he couldn't contain himself.

            "Geez," came Yuki's voice as he left the kitchen.  "Stop being such a grinch, Kyo.  Are your shoes on too tight?"  He then grinned over at Tohru, assuming she'd catch onto his holiday joke.

            Yuki's expectations were crushed.  The girl was staring at him in a confused way but she still managed to force a small smile.  She didn't want to hurt Yuki's feelings by not reacting to what she assumed was a joke of his.  Tohru nervously glanced over at Kyo, wondering if he got it.

            "Oh, that was a great one, damn rat!" Kyo rolled his eyes but then his ranting immediately ceased as he noticed Yuki's expression.  His cousin was staring at Tohru in a shocked way.  Kyo followed his gaze only to come to the same realization.  Tohru had never heard of the story of the Grinch, a Christmas classic.

            "Er, Honda-san?"  Yuki began.

            "Hai!" Tohru yelped, feeling uncomfortable beneath their stares.

            "Have you ever heard of a story called How the Grinch Stole Christmas?" Kyo finished for him.

            Tohru gasped.  "Why would anyone want to steal Christmas?"

            "Aahh, that won't do, will it?" came Shigure's voice as he entered from the outside.  He smiled in relief at Tohru, silently praying no one went outside soon to discover the mess he had made of what used to be Christmas lights.  "The Grinch is a Christmas icon, ne?"  

            Yuki and Kyo nodded.

            "All right!" Shigure exclaimed suddenly, shooing all three towards the heated table in the center of the room.  He sat Yuki on the right, Kyo on the left and Tohru in the center.  They all stared at the man as though he had lost his mind.

            "What the hell are you doing?" Kyo asked, quirking an eyebrow quizzically.

            "Yu~ki-kun, would you like to start?" Shigure said sweetly, ignoring the redhead completely.

            "Start what?" 

            "The story of the Grinch!  We must inform our dear Tohru of what she has been missing," Shigure then patted the boy on the back.  "Begin."

            "Ah, uhm, hm," Yuki stuttered.  He was not the best person for story telling.  The mouse cleared his throat a few times as Shigure moseyed away silently.  Glancing over to the glowering Kyo, he got an idea!  An awful idea!  Yuki got a wonderful, awful idea!

End of Chapter 1


	2. Yuki's Challenge

Mizu-chan's Notes: Hey guys!  I know it's a little out of season now.  Sorry, sorry!  I didn't have writers block so I can't use that excuse.. I was just really lazy and my beta-gal left for Kentucky for a while.  I hope you can still enjoy the story! ;_;!  I incorporated some stuff from the original story and some stuff from the new live-action version because that made it easier to work on!

**Ruby_tears **~ Hey!  Thanks so much for your review! ^_^  Here's the update.. I hope you enjoy it!

**Autumn **~ Danke for the review! It was two sizes too small!  I hope you like this second part!

**Becki **~ Hehe, I was picturing Yuki doing the Grinch smile, too, when I wrote it.  I loved it!  I hope you like how Yuki tells the tale!  

**DOD **~ Nope, I'm sorry but it's not yaoi!  ^_^  Please still enjoy it, though!

**Danelle **~ Thanks so much!  I love when people tell me I get the characters right because that's what I really strive for!  I'm glad you liked it!  

And again.. I'm sorry it's so belated.. and out of season.. -_-;;..

The Grinch Inside of Me

Yuki's Challenge

            Yuki smiled softly as Tohru stared at him expectantly.  "Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot," he begin.

            "Ah!" Tohru nodded.  "What's Who-ville?"

            "Er," Yuki glanced over at Kyo uncomfortably but the redhead only offered a small snicker.  "Let me try again, okay, Honda-san?" 

            She nodded her consent.

            "In a land, not so different from Tokyo, there is a group of people called the Whos.  They love Christmas, the whole Christmas season!"  Yuki felt his heart melting as he saw the childish, innocent excitement appear in Tohru's eyes.

            "There was one Who, Toh Lu Who, who was the sweetest of all the Whos.  She was beautiful and kind and perhaps loved Christmas the most.  And for all the right reasons.  You see Toh Lu loved Christmas because she loved to give presents.  It didn't matter to her if she got a million gifts or none at all," Yuki glanced eagerly at Tohru who was nodding along to the tale.  He let out a low sigh, knowing it was his mistake for thinking such a subtle approach to telling her his feelings would ever work.

            Kyo, however, caught Yuki's hints and he was furious.  As the cat envisioned fighting with his cousin and actually winning, Yuki continued.

            "Toh Lu was the sweetest Who.  I cannot stress it enough.  And she was madly in love with a Who by the name Ne Zo Whomi.  They could not wait to share the season together.  However, Whoville was not without it's problems.  For high up on Mt. Crumpit, there was one Who who hated Christmas.  The Grinch.

            "The Grinch hated Christmas. The whole Christmas season.  Now, please don't ask why," he quickly added as he saw Tohru's lips opening for a question.  "No one quite knows the reason.  It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right," he shot a smirk at Kyo.  "It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight."

            "I get it now!" Tohru exclaimed, her face lighting up with a smile.

            Yuki returned her smile before continuing, "But I think that the most likely of reasons of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

            "Now one day, close to Christmas Eve, Ne Zo sought out his love because Toh Lu's mother desperately needed help at the post office.  She was bogged down with packages as people scurried to send out Christmas cheer.  Being the sweetheart," Yuki paused, an appreciative smile sneaking onto his face before he continued,  "she was, Toh Lu agreed to help and raced towards the post office where she could be of some help to her mother.

            "Little did Toh Lu know what she was going to experience on that fateful day at the post office.  Toh Lu was sent to the back of the post office to help sort out the thousands of festively wrapped packages.  She worked hard of course!  However she soon became aware of strange noises behind the mounds and hills of packages.  Toh Lu, worried of what it could be, edged towards the noises.

            "Out popped a ferocious beast!  His eyes were like fire!  His hair looked as though it had never been combed and was orange.  Not the good kind of orange but the orange of a mushy_ rotten _pumpkin.  He grabbed Toh Lu harshly and his voice like gravel reprimanded the innocent Who for being so lazy for she still had so many packages to sort through."

            "What the hell?!  You little.." Kyo barked out, standing up and slamming his hand against the table.  His fiery gaze burned into Yuki's calm one as his cousin smirked.

            "Is there a problem?  Or are you just trying to ruin the story?" Yuki questioned him serenely.  

            Tohru turned her gaze to Kyo.  Kyo found himself faltering at the pleading look in her eyes and he knew she was enjoying the story.  The cat let out a low sigh before sinking back in a sitting position.

            "Thank you.  I'll continue now.  Toh Lu was stricken with terror as the legendary Grinch tossed her to ground and then knocked over the presents, smothering the poor Who.  He then quickly disappeared, cackling to himself.

            "Now here's where the story took quite a twist for as I've said before Toh Lu was not your ordinary Who.  As she watched the retreating back of the vile Grinch she did not feel hatred nor even fear anymore.  Instead she felt a twinge of sympathy and pity.  It hurt her to see someone who was so utterly and terribly alone. It was then she made a promise to herself that no matter how hard it was, no matter how crazy it was, no matter how dumb it was… she was going to give the Grinch a very merry Christmas this year."

End: Yuki's Challenge 

Onwards: Kyo's Twist

M-C Note: I'll be updating quickly.. ;_;..


	3. Kyo's Twist

Mizu-chan's Notes: Wow! Hello! It's been about a year and over since I last updated this story. But I kept noticing reviews popping up in my mailbox recently for the Grinch Inside of Me and felt it was my duty to continue. Hehe, yes, you guys made me pick up the pen once again. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up where I left off with ease and you all will continue to enjoy my story. Please review and let me know what you think! Oh! And as for what the pairing is going to be.... well, I just can't say, hehe! Oh, and due to the fact that this part is told by Kyo it keeps going further and further away from the actual true story, in case anyone was confused.

The Grinch Inside of Me

Kyo's Twist

"Now the Grinch wasn't all that bad," interrupted Kyo. He flashed a sinister grin to the shocked Yuki.

Yuki stammered, as his train of thought was completely lost. He couldn't pick up his story before Kyo began again. "He hadn't left Whoville for any dumb old reason. All the Whos in the city, despite their love of Christmas, were, in fact, mean old bastards!"

Tohru stared at Kyo with a mixture of shock and sympathy. He knew she was instantly thinking of how badly she wanted to comfort said Grinch.

"In fact, that stupid Ne Zo Whomi had been the worst. The Grinch and Ne Zo Whomi had gone to school together and the ultra-cute and innocent Grinch had suffered from Ne Zo Whomi's constant bullying," Kyo sighed, shaking his head. "It was terrible."

For once, his voice was soft and almost kindly sounding. The evil, taunting grin, however, that Kyo was sending towards his fuming cousin undermined any niceties his voice portrayed. Tohru was oblivious to the silent battle occurring all around her while she waited desperately for the cat to finish his story.

"Now, after _all_ that evil, _vile_ abuse he was put through the Grinch was always a bit grumpy. That's why he yelled at Toh Lu Who during their first encounter. He was just pissed. But that's beside the point. The very next day the Grinch headed back to town. The holiday cheer was pulling him into the city whether he liked it or not. The incredibly handsome Grinch tiptoed around the town, peeking into store windows filled with Christmas toys."

"Wait a second! The Grinch is supposed to be ferocious and ugly looking!" protested Yuki. He was ignored by all persons in the room including Kyo.

""H..hello..'" came an innocent voice behind the Grinch," Kyo continued, raising his voice a few octaves to mimic Tohru's tone. He tried to not notice Shigure spitting out his tea and collapsing into a heap of laughter. His face, however, turned bright red and a feral growl began to build up in his throat.

"The Grinch whipped around and grabbed the little Who by the neck and tossed her into a nearby window!" Yuki piped up, seeing his opportunity to take back narrative of the story.

"With a scream of utter glee, the Who rebounded off the window and into the completely** sexy** Grinch's awaiting arms. They both fell into blissful laughter," Kyo spurted out.

"Windows break, baka neko!" Yuki shouted, finally driven to his last nerve.

"Not when you take over my story," Kyo hissed, leaping to his feet to tower over and intimidate Yuki.

"I started it," was Yuki's steely reply as he slowly stood up to send a chilling glare towards Kyo.

Through it all, Tohru sat with wide-eyes. She was little confused as to what was going on and as to why there was a battle of will literally occurring over her head. Her gaze turned to Shigure as she whispered out a question, "Is this part of the story?"

"Haha, not at all!" chuckled the older gentleman. "In fact, I'll finish it for you."

Both of the younger boys froze at Shigure's words. They turned to stare at him with fear and defeat etched all over their faces before sinking back down to the ground.

"Now.. where were we?" Shigure began.

End: Kyo's Twist

Onwards: Shigure's Meddling

M-C's Note: Good, bad, or ugly? ;;.. Lemme know!


	4. Shigure's Meddling

Mizu-chan's Notes: Haha, wow, this fanfic is getting way out of hand. This is the second to last segment although I had originally planned for it to be the last. Thank you all for the totally awesome reviews!! They make me so insanely happy! This part just completely goes awry from the original Grinch story so don't even try to compare the two anymore, hehe. I hope everyone still enjoys! Criticisms accepted and such! Thanks again, you guys rock!

The Grinch Inside of Me

Shigure's Meddling

Shigure sent a sinister smile to the two boys. They were both deathly pale and he knew he was going to enjoy being the storyteller. The older man cleared his throat and sent Tohru a naughty wink.

"Ah yes, I remember now," he gave a brief nod of realization. "After the Grinch caught Toh Lu," he sent a patronizing smirk towards Yuki and Kyo, "she invited him to her Christmas feast. You see, Toh Lu was the most open and trusting Who in all of Whoville. She knew there was warmth and love somewhere inside the Grinch. The Grinch, however, was hesitant to acquiesce. Could he really throw away years of hating Christmas and hating all Whos for one simple feast and one tiny Who? The sparkle in Toh Lu's eyes answered the question for him. With his cheeks aflame, the Grinch gave a brief nod and Toh Lu squealed in detail. She grasped the Grinchs hand and began prancing down the street. All the Whos out that day stopped in awe, staring at the infamous Grinch calmly walking down the street with a prancing Who latched onto him. The Grinch didn't notice their stares of fear and curiosity. His attention was completely on the warmth of Toh Lu's hand on his. Was this.. could it be… perhaps the grumpy Grinch was falling in love?!"

"Shigure!" yelped Kyo, a flustered look on his face. He could feel the embarrassment heat up his spine as he eyed Tohru nervously. She still seemed oblivious to any underlying meaning to the story of the Grinch. Kyo let out a brief sigh of relief and a snickering Shigure continued.

"The unlikely pair finally made it to Toh Lu's humble abode in the woods. She dragged the Grinch inside the lit-up house. And there! Lying naked on the couch! Covered in rose petals and Christmas holly! Directly underneath a mistletoe was none other then Ne Zo Whomi!!!" Shigure was nearly shouting now, his sole intent to get a rise out of the youngsters in the room.

Tohru's mouth dropped open in complete shock as she sputtered something about Christmas while the space around Yuki suddenly seemed to freeze and become more foreboding then ever. His eyes were narrowed to slits and his fists clenched tightly. Meanwhile Kyo was crying hard from the side-splitting laughter he was suffering from. Shigure nodded briefly, deciding they all reacted accordingly before beginning again.

"'Toh Lu! Wha.. what is that thing doing here?' screeched Ne Zo Whomi, who had quickly jumped up and pulled a fleece blanket around him. His face was a brilliant shade of red which went perfectly with the deep green of the blanket. 'I thought the dinner was just going to be for us?'

Toh Lu gave a brief, sympathetic giggle. 'But don't you think the Grinch deserves a merry Christmas as well?' She seemed not to notice or care about the nudity of Ne Zo.

The Grinch, however, was staring at Ne Zo. A deep, deep stare. A penetrating stare. A stare of utter abandon and lust. Perhaps he was wrong before about loving Toh Lu? Perhaps his childhood bully had truly been his love all along?"

Tohru's brow furrowed with the new plot twist. She hadn't predicted that one at all. The silence on either side of her seemed to show that Yuki and Kyo had been prepared for that part of the story. If she had turned her head to look, she would have seen a whole different story. Both of the young men were sheet white and trembling. They looked at each other from the corner of their eyes, deciding to finally join forces in order to defeat the sadistic Shigure.

"Oh! My, my! Kyo-CHAN! I just heard the bell go off for your delicious cookies!" choked out Yuki. His voice was completely strained as he sent chilling looks toward Kyo.

"How.. how wonderful to p-p-point that out!" shrieked Kyo before he jumped to his feet. "Let's go get them out of the oven! Together! Us three! Yuki, Tohru, and I! Yes, just us!" His words came out sounding like the bad fumblings of script-card reading actor, but Tohru bought it.

She nodded her head sternly, standing up swiftly. "Ah, Shigure-san, we'll be right back to hear the end," she apologized before stepping towards the kitchen.

Yuki leapt to his feet, for once thankful to be working with Kyo. The two nodded briefly to each other before dashing after Tohru into the kitchen. Shigure just gave a simple shrug and chuckled. He reached under the table and pulled out his latest manuscript. Who knew the people in his own home could prove such worthy fodder for a romance novel?

End: Shigure's Meddling

Next Up: Tohru's Resolution

M-C's Notes: Hehe, whaddaya think?


	5. Tohru's Resolution

Mizu-chan's Notes: OO;.. It is the end! Yaay, I'm so glad I finally finished this fic and just in time for the holiday. I'm not sure if I'm 100 satisfied with it, though, so let me know what ya'll think! Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews you've been sending in. They mean a lot and they are huge incentives for me to settle down and write a chapter. Especially when I'm having writers block, hehe. I don't want to let anyone down. Well, here it is. The final chapter of "The Grinch Inside of Me"! I hope you all enjoy it very much! Have a great holiday and such!!

The Grinch Inside of Me

Tohru's Resolution

"Eh? Where are the cookies?" questioned Tohru as she glanced about the kitchen. There was dough everywhere except for the empty cookie tray. The oven wasn't even on, let alone beeping to announce completed cookies. She opened her mouth to pose another question.

"Whoops," Yuki cut her off. "Must have heard things." He scrambled to turn on the oven, offering the girl a quick, nervous grin.

"Yeah, but we'll just make 'em now," Kyo declared, grabbing the bowl of dough off the kitchen counter.

"And hopefully the cookies won't be too awful," Yuki smirked as he grabbed three spoons. He handed one to both Tohru and Kyo before scooping out a bit of dough himself. He dumped it onto the pan and all three eyed the dough uneasily for a moment. Satisfied it wasn't going to mutate into any sort of monster, Kyo scooped out a bit of dough as well. Tohru followed suit and the three worked silently for a while.

When the pan was nearly filled to capacity with little balls of dough, Tohru gave a quick jerk. "Wait, we've never finished the story!" she nearly shouted.

"Ah, yes, you're right," Yuki cleared his throat and gave Kyo a reassuring nod. "I'll start up right where Shigure left off. Ahem.

"The Grinch shook his head clear of such idle thoughts. It was not lust or love he felt for Ne Zo Whomi. The hatred between the two was undeniable. But for Toh Lu, yes for Toh Lu, the Grinch tentatively sent an awkward smile towards Ne Zo. It was Christmas after all."

Kyo's eyes widened as he noticed Yuki was actually being nice to the character of the Grinch. His lips parted into a wild smile as he decided to return the generous favor. "And since it was Christmas, Ne Zo felt the same niceties towards the Grinch. Even though Ne Zo was a foul, wretched, ugly bastard." Yuki rolled his eyes in exasperation as Kyo continued, "He would be polite for just one night. For Toh Lu. They both would because of how much they liked and admired her."

"Perhaps even loved her," murmured Yuki as Kyo's face flushed furiously.

"Ye-yeah, so the three of them celebrated Christmas Eve together," Kyo stammered out the ending line as he placed the tray of cookies into the oven. He looked over at Tohru who looked like she was about to cry but had the most heart-warming smile on her face. "It's over, what's wrong?"

"That's a really beautiful story!" she squealed. "The two of them set aside so many years of hatred just to make her Christmas Eve wonderful," she started sniffling now, her cheeks near to the splitting from the size of her smile. "She's a very fortunate Who."

Yuki and Kyo both sidled closer to the girl, each resting a hand upon her shoulders. They sent each other triumphant grins for a job well done. "She must love them both very much as well," Tohru whispered, glistening tears still streaming down her face.

In that mere instant both Yuki and Kyo were suddenly scarlet red. They stared down at the girl, their mouths open in blunt shock. Both were stammering for words as they felt like they could actually fly from joy. Their hearts were beating a million per second. Yuki felt as though he might even explode as he thought of all the things Tohru could be insinuating towards.

Tohru, however, merely gave a swift, curt nod of resolution before stepping away. Their hands drifted back down to their sides as Tohru headed out of the kitchen to sit at the table that Shigure disappeared from moments before with a slightly paternal chuckle.

"Er," Kyo turned to Yuki with his still crimson face. "What was that all about then?"

Yuki furrowed his brow in confusion before sighing, "We jumped to conclusions." He gave a sorry shake of his head before turning to face his cousin. "Oh well, Merry Christmas, Grinch."

Kyo sent Yuki a genuine grin for once, punching him playfully in the shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Ne Zo Whomi."

Both boys chuckled softly before heading back out into the living rooms to take their respective places besides Tohru. And the three celebrated a very merry Christmas Eve together.


End file.
